Tale of the Fire Flower
by Raven Angel Storm
Summary: An ancient foe as somehow found its way to the present looking to annihilate two families and will stop at nothing to reach its goal. Mizuki Oshira is the target of this foe and must flee from her home in Chinatown,NY to Tokyo, Japan. There she will discover what she was truly put on this earth to do. (Rated: M for mature themes, and language . Original post date - 1/9/2009)
1. Prologue Part 1: Track

_Tale of the Fire Flower_

Prologue, Part 1: Track

"_As fire is to ice, day is to night, dark is to light, when the two meet the entire world will find salvation and all beings living and dead will triumph." _

Early Dawn - Feudal Japan

"The day is drawing near, when I will finally be rid of you. . ." The Lord of the Northern lands growled, as he stared at a picture of a young woman. Her face lit up with joy, her deep blue eyes shining like gems and her sandy brown hair pulled out of her heart shaped face.

A grumbled noise came from the opposite side of the room. The Northern lord turned to address the large Ogre in his quarters, who was anxiously awaiting his orders.

"This is the girl you will hunt down and kill." He announced to the lumbering beast.

The ogre looked at the picture for a moment before saying, "Why hunt her down when she's right here?"

The Lord took a moment to consider his words before speaking, "This is only an image of the girl. If she were here, there would be no use for you."

The ogre thought and nodded to agree with his superior.

"You have until sundown to complete your mission. If you fail, _you_ will not see the light of day again. . . Do you understand?"

The ogre rapidly shook his head, "Yes, Milord!"

The Lord Chuckled, "Good. . ."

A portal opened behind the beast. Knowing that the ogre's reaction time was much less than his own, he shoved the beast into the spinning vortex and smiled maliciously as he watched the ogre fall away from his sight.

~|olo|~

6:45am – Chinatown, NY

"Mizuki, hurry up! You're going to miss the bus!" A woman yelled up the stairs.

"I can't find my algebra book, Granny!" A voice responded. A teenage girl cam barreling down the stairs, her sandy hair pulled back into a fishtail braid.

"You left it on the table last night." She smiled as she handed Mizuki her book.

"Arigatou Gozaimasu, Obasan!*" Mizuki kissed her Grandmother on the cheek as she took her book and bolted out the door.

Her mind might as well have been a broken record as she thought 'Gotta make it! Gotta catch the bus!' over and over again.

As she rounded the corner, the bus pulled up and opened its doors, allowing the waiting people to board.

"Oh, no you don't. . .!" she gritted to herself as she picked up speed, "Wait!" She called, knowing it wasn't going to help. She knew that everything in the grand state of New York was first come, first served. She took a leap of faith as the doors were closing. Mizuki took a moment to catch her breath before swiping her bus pass.

The bus driver shot her a warning glance, "Be here before the bus next time, young lady. Next time you won't be so lucky. . ."

"Yes, Mr. Joe. . ." She took the nearest seat to her and plopped down.

A girl behind the guard to the back of the bus leaned forward and asked, "Has anyone ever told you, you should join the track team?"

Tired from her unwanted morning run, all she could do was smile.

~|vJv|~

The ogre awoke to find himself in a strange new place. The people were dressed funny, the place sounded funny, and it really smelled funny… He had no idea where in the hell he was.

"Why in the hell would he send me here?" He grumbled as he rubbed his head, "Keh, lazy bastard could have done this himself." He spat sourly. He began to wander as continued to mumble to himself before freezing in his tracks…

"Keep in mind, I will be watching you ogre…" A voice growled from behind.

Against his better judgment, he turned around to see two violet eyes glowing from his shadow.

"Milord!"

"Stop fretting and complete your mission! Remember, you only have until sundown." The shadow hissed.

"Yes, Milord!" The Lord released the ogre from his hold and left his shadow. As the threat set in, he nearly jumped out of his skin, "How am I gonna do that by sundown?"

~|Y~Y|~

9:45am – Animation Domination Studios – New York, NY

"Hey, Masaki," Hollered a rather irritating voice, "Are you done with that underwater scene yet?" A tall lanky man questioned as he enter the office uninvited.

"NO! That is the fifteenth time you have asked me that in fifteen minutes, Mitchell! What the hell made you think that that was going to change!" Masaki barked as he slammed his fists on the desk.

"Sorry, man… It's just that Ross wants it done ASAP." Mitchell apologized.

"Well tell Ross 'things like this take time.' When I'm done, I'm done." Masaki said sourly as he turned back to his work. "Anything else?" he never turned to face Mitchell.

"Nah, man. I'll see you later."

With that he left.

The moment the door of his office closed, his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" His irritation clear.

"Well, what crawled up your butt, Mr. Animator?" A female voice chided.

"Sorry, Rei. . . " A light blush crept across his cheeks, "How's your day been so far?" He relaxed in his chair.

"A few broken bones, a couple of stitches here and there, but you know that's the life of a doctor." She replied. "How's your day been?"

"Irritating." He chuckled.

"Really? I would have never guessed." Masaki could hear her smile through her dry sarcasm.

"Rei," He began, "Why did you call me? You never call me while I'm at work…"

There was a heavy silence on the other line, "Please tell me you won't think I'm crazy for saying this…" She finally pleaded.

"Try me."

He heard Rei sigh, "I was on my way from the lab, and out the window I saw an ogre wandering through the streets."

It took a minute for Masaki to think. An ogre? No… It couldn't be. There was no way.

"Are you sure It wasn't something for one of those sci-fi stores or one of those year-round Halloween stores?"

"Yes! I can tell a real ogre from a fake one, Masaki!" Rei fussed.

Masaki sighed and ran his hand though his chocolate hair, "Did it cause panic?" his voice low.

She had to think for a moment, "No, actually. Most people surrounding him seemed oblivious to his presence." She stated.

"Let's hope it stays that way." He paused to get up and look out of his window. "If you see it again before I do, destroy it. On your lunch, go home and put up some sutras to hide the house or at least disguise it."

"Alright, but I have one more question…" her voice trailed off.

"What is it?"

"How did it get here?"

"That's one question I don't have an answer for, dear." With that, he hung up.

~|xOx|~

Devlin James Dower High School – 11:25am

The cafeteria was loud and rowdy as usual.

"Mizuki!" A tall brunette called over the noise, "Mizuki, over here!" She waved her arms high above her head.

The blue eyed girl looked her way and smiled as she came closer.

"Hey, Roxanne." She greeted as she sat down to eat.

"I was wondering, are you free this weekend?" Roxanne asked as she took a bite of her Panini.

"Yeah, why?" She asked popping a tatter tot in her mouth.

"Well, I was hoping to have girl's day with you and Gina." Roxanne answered.

Mizuki pretended to put on a top hat and a monocle, "What would this girl's day consist of?" She inquired in her best posh British accent.

"How glad I am you asked, my dear girl." Roxanne answered in the same inflection, "The first part of the day we spend in the shopping district, the second part we have dinner at my uncle's restaurant, and finally we go to the movies to see_ Apartment 13_." Roxanne twisted her invisible mustache and pushed up her invisible glasses. The two of them burst out in laughter.

"What's so funny?" Asked another voice.

"Hey, Gina." They chorused.

"Are you free this weekend?" Roxanne.

Gina sat down and unpacked her bag lunch, "Yeah."  
"What do you think of having a girl's day with Mizuki and me?"

~X~

The halls at lunch were particularly barren aside from the, skippers and the horny; face sucking couples who couldn't stop long enough to see the occasional teacher roaming the halls as well.

As she ascended up the stair case a strange feeling crept up her spine. She turned in to the science wing; the urge came over her to look out the large window at the end of the hall. As she neared the window at the end of the hall a feeling of malice and unease slowly consumed her. Every fiber of her being was screaming to turn around and run, but she ignored it.

Her heart stopped.

Just up the street was some kind of monster. At first, she thought it to be a trick of the mind; however, as she continued to observe the beast, she realized it wasn't. Mizuki wanted to run, wanted to hide and never come out and forget about what she had just seen.

"There you are." A male voice snatched her out of her state of frozen horror.

"Huh?!" she whipped around to find her friend and chemistry partner, Chase Matthews scowling at her, "Hi Chase. Uh… What's up?"

His scowl grew deeper, "Whadda ya mean 'what's up?' Did ya ferget that yer my lab partner?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

'That's right! We're supposed to finish the lab!' She remembered as embarrassment turned her face red.

"Are ya just gonna stand there gawkin' out the damn window or are ya gonna follow me to the chem. lab?" He demanded.

Her blues found the window once more before following her partner to the chemistry lab and saw no sign of the beast that had her frozen with fear. Unconsciously, that caused her to walk faster.

The sandy haired girl swooped into the chemistry lab, fear shaking her entire body. As she prepared herself, she forced herself to stop shaking. When she decided that she was sold enough to handle the delicate glass beakers she headed over to her and Chase's station.

"Hold it over the flame while I add the other chemicals." Chase read off of the instruction sheet.

She took the beaker tongs and held it over the Bunsen burner as instructed. Her mind wandered elsewhere and her tremors returned.

"Are you alright? Yer shakin'." Chase's voice once again pulling her back to reality.

"Yeah… I'm fine." She lied. She couldn't tell someone what she saw. If she did, they would think she had lost her mind! Her grandparent's would have to call the men with the huge butterfly nets to haul her away to the Loony bin and she didn't want that. Being a teen was already hard enough.

Again, her mind began to wander again and the tremors came back, this time only worse.

"Hold still! If I miss, I'll get this on yer skin!" He barked.

"Sorry." She said, or rather, resigned.

~V~

Mizuki spent the rest of the day afraid of everything and anything that seemed off. Her eyes were glued to the clock waiting for the final bell to sound.

"Remember, students your paper is due next week Friday." The English teacher said as the bell rang.

She did not care about the damn paper she wanted to get the hell out of there and go home! Mizuki flew past Roxanne, Gina, and Chase. She didn't even hear them tell her to wait or stop she ran to the bus and counted the minutes until she made it to her stop.

~|o|~

He had spent all day wandering this strange place… He had no idea where the girl was

"You there," the ogre hear a voice call. He turned around but saw nothing.

"Up here, you imbecile!" She shouted.

He looked up to find a beautiful woman standing on a roof top. She jumped down, landing gracefully like some kind of dark angel.

"Who are you?" he inquired.

The woman ran a hand through her silky raven hair; her golden eyes gleaming with danger, "I am the one who has been sent here to relieve you of your current task." She told him.

The ogre made a rude noise, "You're telling me that Lord Akue sent _you_ take over for me?"

She was disgusted at hearing her Lord's name on the tongue of someone so unworthy.

"Allow me to rephrase. . ." She held her hand above her head. A black mist began to appear form in the palm of her hand. She closed her hand around the dark blob only to have it extend.

He may not be as smart as other youkai, but he knew when to run for his life. He spun on his heel and took off. The woman put herself in the ogre's way.

"Your services will no longer be needed. . ." A dark smile curled her full lips.

He was not given a chance to respond; she swung her scythe and struck the ogre dead.

~|{N}|~

Mizuki spoke not a word to her grandparents upon entering the house. She went straight up to her room and locked the door behind her. She fell face first onto plush comforter and screamed as loud as she could.

'Why?' she wondered, "Why does the weird, creepy, or bad shit have to happen to me!" She cried as she sat up.

A knock sounded at her door, "Who is it?" She it wasn't as if she didn't know who it was.

"Mizuki, it's your grandmother, unlock the door." Rei answered through the door.

She pulled herself from bed to unlock the door and meet her grandmother with a fake smile, "Hai, Obasan?"

"Drop the act, girl." Rei said as she walked into the room, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, just. . . teenager issues." She hunched.

Rei didn't want to press Mizuki and get her in a mood, so she changed the subject, "Your grandfather and I were thinking of eating out tonight. I wanted to know where you wanted to go."

Mizuki shrugged, "Anywhere good, I guess."

"How about the new Indian place that just opened up? I hear the curry is amazing." Rei nudged her granddaughter.

"Fine." She followed her grandmother out of her bed room and followed her to the car where Masaki was waiting patiently.

"Everyone ready?" Masaki's eyes darted between his wife and grandchild.

The two of them nodded and they all loaded in the car. However, they were all unaware that they were being watched.

A black and gold Kimono billowed gracefully in the cool evening breeze; golden eyes watched as the vehicle pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.

"My Lord, shall I go after them and kill them all?" requested the woman.

"No. . . Let them go Tsumi. . .I 'm changing my plan. . ." Akue's smile was almost visible to his female servant. Through her eyes he watched the family disappear over the horizon.


	2. Prologue Part 2: Chase

_Tale of the Fire Flower_

Prologue, Part 2: Chase

Feudal Japan- Midmorning

"But my Lord-!" Tsumi's protest was cut short with a wave of the hand.

"I will have no arguments Tsumi." He told her firmly.

"You know that I am more than capable of handling myself!" She pointed out.

Akue nodded in agreement, "That I do, however these people are dangerous."

"A little brat and two old hags? Dangerous?" She tested the words on her tongue. "That's impossible! They are no more dangerous than an ant!"

"Tsumi, I have been watching them for some time and they are very dangerous. I cannot afford to lose you to them." His voice became tender. Akue took her chin in his fingers and lifted her face to meet his. "I need you, Tsumi. You will have your chance soon enough, but I need you here with me for now."

This had caught her off guard. In her time with Lord Akue she had never seen him so. . . vulnerable. He had always been cold ruthless, calculating, violent, and malevolent. It was as strange to see a softer side of him.

"My Lord. . . who will carry out your will?" She inquired softly.

He smiled a wicked, cold smile, "You may enter."

The door slid open to reveal a man in a white baboon's skin.

She observed the strange fellow as he and her lord conversed. It wasn't until she read his aura that she realized _what_ he was.

"But my lord he is-"

"More than capable of fulfilling this mission." He shot her a warning glance and turned his attention back to the man sitting in front of him, "You are comfortable with the conditions of this mission?"

The man nodded slightly, "Yes."

The dark haired woman behind him gracefully opened her fan allowing a small smile to grace her lips.

"Time is of the essence, Naraku." He said as stood, "Tsumi do you have the jewel?"

"Right here my Lord." She held it up for him to see, the violet gem shinning with power. Slowly a portal began to open behind her. When it was stable she stepped to the side to grant them access.

Naraku smiled slyly before he and Kagura jumped into the swirling vortex. Akue watched as the portal closed behind the two.

"What do we do now. . . ?" Tsumi wondered.

"We wait. . ." an evil knowing smile danced on his lips as he exited the room.

~|.U.|~

New York City – 12:14 pm

Mizuki always loved being at Roxanne's house. It was huge and there was never anything not to do. She followed her chipper friend though the winding halls of her home all the way to her room.

"Here we are ladies!" the brunette spread her arms wide in a presenting fashion.

"Roxy, we've been here a million times. Do you have to do that every time we come over?" Grace asked, as she tossed her bag by a fluffy chair.

"Maybe. . . ?" She toyed. Roxanne let her friends settle in before she sis what she loved most. Gossip!

"So, before we start our day on the town, does anyone have something they want to discuss?" Her eyes were just as probing as her tone. She turned to Gina and gave her the "spill it" look.

Realizing that there was no shaking the determined girl she sighed in defeat, "Fine. . . in Biology the other day, we were all waiting for the bell to ring and guess who wanted my number?" She could barely contain her excitement. "Spencer Madden!" She squealed.

Both Mizuki and Roxanne leaned in with surprise, "Really?"

Gina's nodded quickly, "Yep! He wants to meet me for coffee on Sunday."

"Wow, that's great Gina." Mizuki smiled.

Their attention then turned to the blue eyed girl in the room.

"Mizuki is there anyone that you have your eye on?" Roxanne prompted.

"No. I don't really like high school guys. . . I think they're too immature."

"Really? What about Michael or Nimba?" Roxanne posed.

"Nope. I mean don't get me wrong, I think their cute, but I just can't date guys my own age." She explained.

"What's so wrong with guys in our age group?" Gina pressed.

Mizuki hunched, "They goof around too much. I mean they can't even take themselves seriously let alone a relationship." She paused for a moment. "On top of that I do not have do not have the time or energy to put into a 'TV drama' relationship."

They all laughed at her comment. It may have been funny, but that's just the way she felt. She had had boyfriends before, and watched as her other friend's relationships went from great to shit in a matter months. I guess you could say what she really wanted was to find her true love. Cliché, yes but sometimes the best things are.

~|X|~

Asian Market - 3:34 pm

"Ms. Rei, don't forget you leeks!" a young man yelled after her.

"Thank you, Benji; I need those for dinner tonight." Rei smiled.

"Well can I come?" he joked.

She laughed. "Nice try, I'm sure your mother would miss you too much."

"Have a nice night, Ms. Rei!" he called after her.

"You too, Benji!" as she continued back home she couldn't help but feel something was wrong. No 'wrong' didn't begin to describe this feeling, it was pure evil. She quickened her steps to a near run until something caused her to stop. Across the street, on top of a building, she saw a man in a white baboon's skin. Terror struck her like a blow to the face. Unconsciously she began to walk towards him, entranced by the sight. The raging horn of a semi-truck scared her back to reality. Rei stumbled back onto her butt and dropped all her groceries.

"Ma'am are you alright?" A concerned passerby asked as he picked up the food that wasn't ruined.

She didn't answer. She was too terrified. Rei scrambled to her feet and took off towards home.

She was out of breath and scared as hell when she slammed and locked the door. She set herself against the door and sank to her feet.

'This couldn't be happening. . . not now. . .' she thought.

Footsteps came quickly down the stairs. Masaki stood at the base of the steps and studied his wife for a moment before realizing how distressed she was.

"Rei, what happened?" He ran to her side and took her hand in his.

She took a moment to compose herself before speaking, "Masaki. . . our granddaughter is in grave danger."

Masaki was baffled, "What do you mean?"

"The ogre was just a test dummy so he would track her down and kill her! Masaki we need to get her out of this country!" Rei was crying. She was a strong woman who hadn't shed a tear since her son's death.

"It's alright. You go pick her up and I'll go get her things together. If we want to beat him we have to be faster than him."

"Right," She sniffled and Masaki pulled her to her feet, "If I'm not back in 10 minutes. Then come and look for us." Rei grabbed her keys and out the door she went.

~|O^O|~

New York City – 4:20 pm

Gina nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Spencer talking to Chase and Kevin Lockson.

"Guys look, it's Spencer!" She squealed.

"Good God woman. . ." Mizuki took her pinky and moved it around in her ear, "Way to make us deaf. God. . ."

Gina sunk into herself, "Sorry guys."

"Why don't we go say 'Hi'?" that was more of a statement than a question coming from Roxanne.

"You guys go ahead, I'm just gonna hangout in this Hot Topic for a while." She waved them on.

"Mizuki, you're coming too. Could it be that you lied to us about not wanting to date high school boys?" Roxanne nudged her.

"No! I just don't want to go over there!" She marched into the store only to be dragged out by both her friends. 'Why does this always have to happen to me?' she wondered as she was dragged out.

"Hi, guys." Roxanne smiled.

"Hiya!"Gina offered a toothy grin.

"'Sup. . ." Was Mizuki's stale greeting.

"Hey." The guys chorused.

Roxanne stole Chase for a while and Gina whisked away Spenser leaving Kevin and Mizuki to themselves.

"Um. . ." Kevin stammered, "Ogenkidesu ka?"

She smiled, "Watashi wa daijobudayou, atnata desu ka?"

He looked utterly confused by what the hell she just said, "What?"

"I said 'I'm doing fine, you?'"

"Oh. . . good." Kevin smiled nervously.

Mizuki studied the tall red head for a moment, "What made you want to lean Japanese?" she probed.

"You." His voice held a heat that caused her face to turn red.

"You have a crush on me?" She asked a little confused.

He smiled and nodded, "Why shouldn't I?"

Before she could answer, the sound of tires screeching pulled her attention to the street. To her mortal embarrassment it was her grandmother.

"Granny, what's going on?" her confusion and embarrassment evident.

"Just get in the car and I will tell you." Rei was not in the mood for questions.

She told her friends goodbye and got in her grandmother's car.

~|o()o|~

Kagura was sick to her stomach. The tunnels were small and cramped and occasionally she would step in something she would pray was mud. . .

"How much longer do we have to wander down here in this filth?" she demanded.

"This should be far enough. Kagura I want you to search from the skies and I will smoke her out from down here." Naraku instructed.

Kagura proceeded to the exit above them until something occurred to her, "Why are you doing this? You can't stand taking orders from anyone. . . and now you're a professional hit man?"

Naraku smiled deviously, "I thought you might ask me that. . . you know InuYasha and those brats have been a thorn in my side for far too long. . ." he let Kagura do the rest.

"So you made a deal with the Northern lord. . . if you kill his pest he'll kill yours." Kagura said.

"Exactly. . ."

Kagura smiled as she ascended to the surface. She brushed the dirt from her Kimono, took a feather from her hair and took to the skies.

He was tired of losing to kids. . . he wanted to find this girl and do what he was instructed to do. Kill her. He was not about to let easy prey get away.

~|-8-|~

"You want to know what's going on. Well here it is-" Rei took a deep breath, "Chinatown isn't safe for you anymore."

"What do you mean, Chinatown isn't safe for me anymore?" the teen demanded.

"Exactly what it sounds like, you're in danger if you stay here."

"Wait. . . I know what you're doing!"Mizuki exclaimed.

"You do?" Rei shot her a side look.

"You're just making all this up so you can ship me off to Russia!"

Rei shook her head, "Honey, I'm not making this up just so I can ship you off to Russia. Chinatown really isn't safe for you anymore."

Mizuki sat in silence while thinking of all the different possibilities of why her life might be in danger, "It must be the Yakuza! What did you crazy old coots do now! Did you promise them money or drugs or something!"

'Goddamn it Mizuki. . .'

. Rei gave and irritated sigh, "This has nothing to do with the Japanese mafia; someone really wants you dead!"

A wave of mixed emotions slammed into her like a wrecking ball to an old building. She couldn't think of a reason why anyone would want her dead.

"So what are we going to do?" her voice now quiet.

"_You_, are going to Japan to live with your mother's parents. Your grandfather and I are going to hold them off as long as we can. And no you have no room to argue here." Rei told her as she hooked a right.

Mizuki swallowed hard before she spoke again, "Who's after me?"

Her grandmother shook her head, "We don't know." Technically she wasn't even lying.

The car began to shake. . . at first both of them thought that they were going over bumpy road. It wasn't until the shaking worsened that they realized that it was road itself that was shaking.

"Granny. . .?"

She tightened her grip on the wheel, "Hang on, baby girl!"

Mizuki let out a small yelp as the car went down the road at full speed. Just as she sped past a manhole cover it blew off releasing a purple noxious gas.

'Shit! We're running out of time!'

She drove like a maniac; swerving all over the road trying to avoid the covers and the gas that spilled from them.

"Granny, slow down! The cops will come after you!" her granddaughter warned as she hung on for dear life.

"Like they'll have time!" She made a sharp turn in to the driveway next to her husband's car. "Mizuki hurry and get to Masaki's car he'll take you to the airport."

"But. . . I don't want you guys getting hurt." Mizuki said softly.

"We're not that easy to take down. These old bones still have some power left." And for her sake she hoped that that was true. Both of them exited the car and to Rei's horror the gas was rising.

"Don't breath! Use your scarf as filter!" the older woman warned.

While holding her breath Mizuki took the scarf from around her neck and tied it over face like an old west out law and made a B-line for her grandfather's truck.

Rei stood and watched as her husband and grandchild peeled out of the driveway and onto the road. She walked inside and waited. . . she was not going to let Mizuki die. Not while she was living!

~|-O-|~

'The time has come. . . I've got you right where I want you!' Naraku broke down the door and peered into the darkness of the home. From the darkness, a female stepped forward. To his displeasure it was not the teenaged female he had hoped for.

"Who are you?" he asked sourly.

A smirk twisted the woman's lips, "What's wrong, handsome? Not the girl of your dreams?" She chided.

A low growl rumbled from his throat, "Do not mock _me_ woman. . . I am more than capable of ending your pathetic existence!" came the lethal warning.

The woman's expression changed from teasing to deadly, "So you think. . ."

"Kagura search this place for the girl while I deal with this wench!" Naraku growled.

Kagura did what she was told she ripped the house apart looking for the girl. . . but she wasn't there. That's when Kagura realized that the old hag was just a diversion to stall for time!

"Naraku! Stop! It's a trick she's stalling for time!" Kagura called as she jumped over the railing of the upper floor.

"What?!" Now he was pissed. He didn't appreciate being tricked.

"Oops. . . you found me out." came the playful jeer of the woman.

He had no more patience left. Naraku shot out tentacle and grabbed the woman by the neck and lifted her off of her feet, "Where. Is. The. Girl?" he growled.

The woman smiled through the struggle, "Long. . . gone. . . heh, heh, heh. . ." she choked out.

Naraku was done playing games, he threw the woman down and headed for the door.

"Kagura finish her off, I'm going after the girl. . ."

~|-C-|~

Masaki was relieved that no one was coming after them. He looked over at his sleeping granddaughter and relaxed. That was until he saw something out of the rearview mirror. It was a man in a white baboon pelt flying after them.

"Aw, damn!" he groaned. Masaki put his foot on the gas and prayed that he would lose that him. Much to his dismay, the man was after them was able to match the speed of the car

"Give me the girl. . . and I might spare you." He lied.

Masaki was no fool. He was not about to give up his only grandchild to this. . . whatever he was! Mumbling a few choice words under his breath he pointed a finger at the man and shot him with a blast of green light. Hopefully that was enough to stun him.

Mizuki stretched and turned to look at her grandfather who looked rather tense, "Ji-ji, what's wrong?" sleep coating her words.

"Nothing, just go back to sleep." He was lying and they both knew it. She knew that if she asked again she would get the same answer. Not having much of a choice she settled back into her seat. Although, something caught her eye. . .

"Ji-ji!"

Masaki didn't have to turn around to know that the man was back on his tail. He could feel that he was pissed and ready to kill, but Masaki would never give him that chance. He rolled up his sleeves and readied himself, "Mizuki take the wheel!" without so much as an opposing sound she took the wheel from Masaki.

He positioned himself out the window and held out his hand. He began to chant in unknown tongues and his light began to glow and iridescent green. On the last word of this chant a shot of bright green was released from his and hit the man dead on. Masaki knew that that was not enough to kill him, but when woke up, he was not going to be the happiest camper.

He had arrived at the airport just in time for Mizuki to catch her flight.

"I love you, Mizuki and don't forget to have Natsumi and Ichirou call us once you get there." He gave his granddaughter one last kiss on the forehead and sent her off.


End file.
